B
bsnluser
Regular
Hello,
I see many threads here about the computer's network speed and though I should chip in with some tools I use. The following is Linux related, specifically Debian or Ubuntu. Fedora and others will have similar commands.
Before I continue, I must say that my favorite OSes are Debian and Ubuntu. Main reason being: no viruses so no worry regarding that, full control over what I can do with the OS, legal and free software and finally, a plethora of applications available to do anything one may want on a computer. Hence this post geared toward Linux users.
Note that this is related to checking a computer's bandwidth, not an internet connection's. They are different, unless if you have only one computer connected to the internet. Also, they do not replace other tools like speed testers on the internet.
Bmon (bmon - bandwidth monitor and rate estimator)
--------
To monitor the current data transfer speed at a computer's network interfaces, my best choice is bmon. It is a very tiny application and runs frmo the console or terminal.
To install it either use synaptic or use the command "sudo aptitude update" and then "sudo aptitude install bmon".
Once that is installed, you can use bmon as a normal user:
$> bmon
and it will show the current data transfer in the terminal. To quit the application, type "q". To get details, type "d" and to get graphics, press "g".
Here is a picture showing bmon in action: 2007-12-04-060823_1280x800_scrot on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Nethogs (Ubuntu -- Details of package nethogs in hardy)
----------------------
I also sometimes use nethogs application. It is also ncurses based and runs in a terminal. However, it gives the bandwidth being used by each process. It needs to be run by root though, or by using sudo.
To install it use synaptic or do "sudo aptitude install nethogs".
I am not sure if these applications have also been ported to Windows. If anybody knows, please let us know too.
Regards.
I see many threads here about the computer's network speed and though I should chip in with some tools I use. The following is Linux related, specifically Debian or Ubuntu. Fedora and others will have similar commands.
Before I continue, I must say that my favorite OSes are Debian and Ubuntu. Main reason being: no viruses so no worry regarding that, full control over what I can do with the OS, legal and free software and finally, a plethora of applications available to do anything one may want on a computer. Hence this post geared toward Linux users.
Note that this is related to checking a computer's bandwidth, not an internet connection's. They are different, unless if you have only one computer connected to the internet. Also, they do not replace other tools like speed testers on the internet.
Bmon (bmon - bandwidth monitor and rate estimator)
--------
To monitor the current data transfer speed at a computer's network interfaces, my best choice is bmon. It is a very tiny application and runs frmo the console or terminal.
To install it either use synaptic or use the command "sudo aptitude update" and then "sudo aptitude install bmon".
Once that is installed, you can use bmon as a normal user:
$> bmon
and it will show the current data transfer in the terminal. To quit the application, type "q". To get details, type "d" and to get graphics, press "g".
Here is a picture showing bmon in action: 2007-12-04-060823_1280x800_scrot on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Nethogs (Ubuntu -- Details of package nethogs in hardy)
----------------------
I also sometimes use nethogs application. It is also ncurses based and runs in a terminal. However, it gives the bandwidth being used by each process. It needs to be run by root though, or by using sudo.
To install it use synaptic or do "sudo aptitude install nethogs".
I am not sure if these applications have also been ported to Windows. If anybody knows, please let us know too.
Regards.
